Tel Aviv: Israeli company Rafael, successfully conducted a comprehensive demonstration of its BNET Advanced Tactical Communication System for Romanian special forces, intelligence units, and other official government services in May 2023. This significant event, held in collaboration with local partner STARC4SYS SRL, showcased the exceptional capabilities of Rafael’s BNET in a variety of scenarios, illustrating its effectiveness in complex operational environments.
The demonstration encompassed combat simulations in diverse arenas, including urban settings both above and below ground, as well as open terrain. Rafael effectively showcased how the BNET tactical communication solution enables real-time battle management, information gathering, and navigation in GPS-denied environments and other complex battle scenarios. The event attendees consisted of official delegations from specialised fields, including technology operators and decision makers responsible for planning and executing highly-demanding operations with minimal setup. The advanced features of BNET highlighted the system’s ability to provide decision makers and operators with a distinct advantage in dynamic battlefield scenarios while ensuring mission success.
In dynamic operational environments, swift and effective responses to challenges are paramount for state-owned forces. BNET demonstrated unparalleled throughput, facilitating robust simultaneous video feeds with restricted and secure reception for key personnel. The seamless integration with legacy systems allowed for the sharing of live pictures and special applications, enhancing situational awareness.
“The ability to accurately position all forces in real-time, even in GPS-denied areas, has revealed the immense potential of our tactical communication systems,” said Cristian Ghimfus, General Director at STARC4SYS SRL. “This demonstration undeniably provides government forces with a significant advantage not only in the present battle but also in future conflicts. We are thrilled to continue expanding the operational capabilities of our esteemed clients.”
Gil Volkovizki, marketing director at Rafael, said that by continually pushing boundaries, BNET has proven its ability to equip state-owned forces with the necessary tools to stay ahead in today’s fight and tomorrow’s battles. He expressed tremendous pride in the successful demonstration of Rafael’s advanced tactical communication systems which showcased capabilities of BNET align seamlessly with the demanding operational environments where achieving the impossible is routine.
The operational demonstration garnered positive feedback from participants, reaffirming the outstanding performance and reliability of Rafael’s tactical BNET communication systems. Rafael’s unwavering commitment to continuous innovation and close collaboration with end-users ensures that their solutions remain at the forefront of technological advancements in the defence industry.
RAFAEL has developed the BNET Family – which since 2014 has been a globally field-proven Broadband IP Software Defined Radio solution for tactical operations on both Air and Land platforms, addressing the challenges of the battlefield (e.g. limited spectrum, communicating with autonomous systems, connecting multiple sensors and shooters, etc.).
The BNET is a Spectrum-Aware SDR – cognitively utilising the spectral arena of the battlefield to the fullest. The system has already been used in the battlefield and proven capability and connected to multiple types of networks and BMS to prove a modular capability and open architecture critical for a system of this type. The BNET is enhanced with a Patented technology – Multi-frequency Channel Reception (MCR), which enables it to receive and analyse information from hundreds of frequency channels, simultaneously, using a single RF head. This enables a network rate of 100Mbps, while facilitating the formation of a single “flat” network, scaling up to thousands of radios. The BNET is a full IP Radio – enabling seamless interoperability with other radios and with IP- based applications.
According to Rafael, with BNET, there are no network bottlenecks, since it constitutes a single unified logical group with no need for gateways. Additional advantages include automatic and dynamic spectrum allocation, avoiding the need for manual intervention by the battalion’s Signal Officer, using accessible spectrum (which is always a limitation) to the fullest extent possible.
Rafael says that BNET’s ultra-fast network merge-and-heal capability (responding in seconds, rather than minutes), greatly reduces the risks associated with lack of basic communication (i.e., reduces the risk of “friendly fire”). This is all managed and controlled easily and remotely – over the air – by Rafael’s Network Management System (RNMS) – a powerful solution to plan, monitor and control the BNET network.
The BNET is the main communication system of the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF) existing and future platforms.
